ESPN Insider Keith Law paints dark picture for D-backs’ future

By Vince Marotta | April 15, 2014 at 4:25 pmUPDATED: April 15, 2014 at 4:25 pm

LISTEN: Keith Law, ESPN MLB Analyst

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Newsflash: The Arizona Diamondbacks’ aren’t playing very good baseball so far in 2014.

Their 4-12 record is the worst in Major League Baseball, as is their run differential of -36. Their team ERA of 5.96 is, you guessed it, the worst in baseball.

ESPN baseball insider Keith Law joined Doug and Wolf Tuesday morning and didn’t exactly paint a promising picture for the Diamondbacks’ future.

“You’re not worse than the Houston Astros right now,” Law said. “You’re worse off than the Astros going forward. Would I rather be an Astros fan for the next couple years, or a Diamondbacks fan? I’d rather be an Astros fan.

“I think the Astros’ future is a heck of a lot brighter even if the current Major League team isn’t as good as what the Diamondbacks are rolling out there.”

Ouch.

Houston has won an average of 54 games over the last three big league seasons, by far the worst in baseball over that stretch.

So what is the problem, according to Law?

First, he’s not a fan of what general manager Kevin Towers has done since taking over the office in late 2010.

“The Kevin Towers era is not good. Basically every major move he’s made, particularly in the trade front, has made the team worse,” he said.

Law also believes there may be some issues organizationally with the way the Diamondbacks develop their young pitchers — most notably top prospect Archie Bradley.

“I don’t know that we have enough evidence for me to say ‘yes, they have a problem developing pitchers,’ but they haven’t done a great job of it,” Law said. “Archie Bradley — as good as he is and I do think he’s probably the best pure pitching prospect in the minors right now — hasn’t progressed quite as fast as I would have thought, for a guy who’s big, athletic, has the size, has the stuff, has a good delivery.

“He probably should be more advanced right now. Should have been ready to get that call when the rash of injuries came up. He should have been ready to come up now, when (Trevor) Cahill had to be demoted to the bullpen and he’s not. I still think he’s going to be very good, but why hasn’t he progressed faster? In terms of raw materials for a pitching prospect, it really doesn’t get a whole lot better.”

Bradley is 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in two starts at Triple-A Reno this season. The 21-year-old former first-round pick went 2-1 with a 4.32 ERA in 8.1 innings of work in the Cactus League this spring.